Ugly Buffalo
Starting off as nothing more than a small pit stop along the Rio Grande for traders moving up and down the roads, it developed into a small farming community as more people settled down, it is now a small farming community and a pit stop for cattle drives and merchants headed North into Texas. History The history of Ugly Buffalo in all of its glory can be traced back to a man named Lester, he was a small-time merchant who had gained infamy in the area for being a snitch and swindler, known for screwing honest paisanos out of their money and often leaving town with a more than a few angry farmers looking to put Lester in an early grave. However, after one too many run-ins with local lynch mobs and sheriffs, he decided to drop the gimmick and to try going legit. He settled down in the ruins of an old border town which sat astride a well-traveled caravan route, setting up shop in the town's gas station he intended to hawk his goods to passing merchants and to hopefully grow the town around his shop. This all sounded well and good in his head, but his reputation had carried along the trade routes and soon his name was as good as dirt. Thus, as he tried to hawk his goods to passing by merchants he either found himself on the receiving end of insults or looking down the barrel of a gun, on more than one occasion people shot up his store, held it up or simply roughed him up when he came out to greet them thus he hired a bodyguard a young gunfighter by the name of Tennessee Jackson. Tennessee was a Texan by birth, but had been raised by two poor paisanos when his parents were killed while traveling in The Highlands. Since then Tennessee has been a sort of wandering gun for hire, working for anyone who would pay well. Thus he and his trusty Winchester Widow Maker stood guard inside the store, looking out for those looking to cause trouble in the store. And trouble there was as the attacks on the store became more and more frequent, with both Tennessee and Lester being forced to defend themselves from bandits looking to take the stores wares and every so often a person would stop in to purchase some supplies. With this up and down cycle, the duo were rather surprised when people, notably other merchants began to settle down in the old buildings around Lester's store. Any other merchant would've been nervous that the new arrivals would take business away from his store, but Lester was simply happy to have a few more people wandering the town to help chase off the bandits. The town grew slowly and business with traveling merchants began to pick up as the town quickly became a hub for caravaneers to rest after a long day of walking the wastes. However, just as things were looking up, trouble once again struck in the form of a Texan Comanchero named Asa Williams. Born in the Permian Basin in the town of Big Spring he had become infamous in Texas as being the man who took down Fort Stockton. The Fort was a massive stockyard where cattle drivers coming down from Oklahoma and South from Los Fresnos, National City, and Falfurrias could come to sell and trade their cattle, the place was guarded by a group of mercs known as Los Gigantes but even these mercs couldn't seem to hold back Asa and his bandits who overran the Fort, and stole nearly all the cattle held within the Fort's stockyard but not before killing nearly every merc guarding the place. After their raid, Asa took the cattle and sold them to buyers in New Mexico. However, with nearly every lawman in Texas, from Rockport mercenaries to Los Caballeros on their tail they decided to head south of the border and lay low for awhile. After shooting their way across the Rio Bravo they hide among the hills and freaks of The Highlands, before deciding to hit a target and Ugly Buffalo was just the right size for them to make their mark in Mexico. It was early when Asa and his bandits showed up, shooting and hollering as they rode into town they were received in the usual frontier way, with plenty of return fire so much so that many of the bandits chose to abandon their horses and proceed on foot, however the townsfolk were there to meet them, however in this now more level battle the bandits quickly gained the upper hand. After several hours of back and forth fighting, Tennessee challenged Asa to a duel in order to try and end the bloodshed. The deal being that if Tennessee killed Asa, Asa's gang would leave town and if Tennessee was killed the town was Asa's. With this in mind, both men stood on the main avenue, with both Asa and Tennessee staring each other down. Suddenly the clock chimed and both men drew, with Asa going down in with a cry. With their leader gone, Asa's gang backed off and left the town not soon after. Ever since then the town has been peaceful with Tennessee moving on and Lester and his new town flourishing from trade with merchants and from a fledgling farming market. The town has also become home to the parents of ruthless Comanchero and broadcaster of Radio Libre Frontera, Weaver McBain. Government The town is run by Lester, who even in his advanced age can still manage to run the town in an effective manner, ever since Tennessee's leaving of town the town's law enforcement has come in the form of Bill "Arizona" Shaw a former Mercenary from Rockport Texas. He is a tough man, but a fair one, and looks to be the one to inherit the position of the town Mayor when Lester dies. Economy The economy of Ugly Buffalo revolves around the trade route that the town sits upon, if it weren't for that trade route the town would literally disappear. Even with the trade with passing merchants is what drives the town's economy there is a small, but thriving farming market in town with several farms set along the river growing a number of unique crops such as; peppers, pinto beans, sugar, and tobacco. While not the mainstay of the economy thee crops at least help give the town something to trade with the merchants. Category:Tamaulipas Category:Mexico Category:Places Category:Communities